Chapter 1

Journey Song

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There is no clear beginning to Xavier Rudd's musical journey; no ‘a-ha moment' that kicked off his songwriting. Instead, as seems apt for a surfing hippy from Jan Juc in coastal Victoria, the music always flowed from somewhere within him.

“I don't know the first song I ever wrote,” he tells Double J. “I can't remember, because I had a life of doing it, it's just part of me.

Ever since I was a little kid I've always had these melodies running through my brain.

Xavier Rudd - Double J, 2018

“Ever since I was a little kid I've always had these melodies running through my brain. I would sing about things that were happening around me.

“I didn't know back then that I was writing songs, but essentially I was.”

Rudd's life as a young man was much the same as any other Australian with itchy feet and an ache to explore the world, at least initially.

He headed to the ski hills of Canada to snowboard, spent his days strapped into ski boots and his evenings playing in local bars around Whistler, motivated primarily by earning himself a ski pass to get back on the slopes.

It wasn't a luxurious lifestyle.

“I had a Ford Bronco, like an old crappy car, that I used to pack all my gear in, and I'd park it in underground car parks, because it was warm. Otherwise I'd freeze. I slept in the car.”

While his career trajectory means he can now sleep in places with four walls and central heating, his grounded nature and authenticity remains.

He continues to stride onstage barefoot and sing from the heart about issues that are important to him, such as land rights and his connection with nature and spirit.

He walks the talk, inviting charities such as Sea Shepherd into his shows, and actively stands against injustices he sees in the world, playing at protest sites like the Bentley Blockade in 2014. It is one of the reasons that he and his music continues to be so passionately loved.

After those early days in Canada, his popularity quickly bloomed, with his shows filled with both fans and a slew of managers and agents who wanted a piece of the action. Despite this, Rudd released his debut album To Let independently in 2002.

Crowds flocked not only for his musicianship, but also for the unique spectacle of his one-man-band aesthetic. Like an island settled in the middle of the stage, he would surround himself with yidaki, guitars, harmonicas, drums and other instruments that he played simultaneously like some kind of magical octopus.

In the 16 years since that debut album, Rudd has released eight studio albums and eight live albums, each one of them unique in its own way. While his earlier albums Solace (2004), Food in the Belly (2005) and White Moth (2007) very much built on the sound of his debut album, 2008's Dark Shades of Blue took an electric and unexpected turn.

Using amplified guitars and a much more harrowing, fuller sound, the album highlighted the shadowy side of Xavier's music, which had been hinted at lyrically but never fully realised until this point. It was more dynamic, experimental and psychedelic than his previous releases, with distortion and guitar effects no one saw coming.

That dark side didn't last long, with 2010's Koonyum Sun bringing changes of a different kind, namely the addition of bassist Tio Moloantoa and percussionist Andile Nqubezelo, who Xavier met at an Austrian music festival.

After connecting and chatting about South African music, he discovered they had played with iconic reggae artist Lucky Dube before he was murdered by carjackers in 2007.

They formed a deep connection, both musically and personally, and Xavier Rudd &amp; Izintaba was born, named after the Zulu word for mountains. The melting pot of Xavier's Indigenous heritage and their South African influence injected a different rhythm into the Koonyum Sun album and into Rudd's work moving forward.

From a man who started as an island, surrounded by instruments, 2015's Nanna album saw him completely change tack. On this album, he stepped out as a frontman of a new 10-piece band the United Nations, surrounded by talented musicians from across the country and the world.

It speaks volumes to the respect that Xavier Rudd engenders that both established and emerging musicians came together to be part of his band for both the album and subsequent tours. Uncle Tio stayed on, joined by Chris Lane (Oka), Bobby Alu, Peter Hunt (Kooii), Yeshe Reiners, Georgie Corowa and more.

Stepping out the front of a band gave Xavier a new confidence, and a new look.

“I've created a character almost for this record,” he told triple j's Veronica and Lewis in 2015. “A man with a top hat and a staff. He's probably someone I've always wanted to be. I feel taller in a top hat, which is cool.”

Chapter 2

Pockets Of Peace

Through all the music he has made over the years, the common thread has been Rudd's love of nature and his social activism.

In 2010 he was one of the last passengers aboard Sea Shepherd ship Ady Gil, days before it sunk after a collision with a Japanese whaling security vessel. He has had a longstanding relationship with the work of Sea Shepherd throughout his career.

He is also an outspoken vegetarian, part of the Save the Kimberley movement, and performed at the Bentley anti-gas blockade for the Lock the Gate Alliance in 2014, among other things.

He has consistently stood up for the causes he believes in, and has championed the rights of Australian Indigenous people throughout his career.

He's noticed a few changes in the social landscape across the years, particularly when it comes to Indigenous issues. There was a particular occasion around 15 years ago when he appeared on a morning TV program.

“I was going to play ‘Land Rights', which isn't even a political song, it's a story of a land rights case in Arnhem Land,” he tells Double J.

“I was about to go on and the producer of the show came to me and said, ‘No, we'd like you to play ‘Better People''. I said, ‘No, I'm going to play the Land Rights song', because it was relevant to the time and I wanted to play it.

I get a bit rattled when I'm around the hype. I've had to work on it.

Xavier Rudd - Double J, 2018

“I had literally a minute until I was on air and then he walked off. I felt like it summed up Australia at that time.

“I did notice there was caution at the beginning of my career, way more so than now, about Aboriginal issues.

"You know, people are touchy way more than you'd think, especially in the media.

“I ended up playing ‘Better People' because he said to me, ‘You won't come back on the show if you play that song.”

Xavier Rudd has always been a musician with heart, and his authenticity and grounded nature has contributed to the long-standing respect he has in roots music circles.

Walking barefoot along the beach or in the forest is where he feels most at home, and, even after over 15 years releasing music in Australia, he still finds it difficult to fit in to the music machine.

“As far as the industry's concerned, I've never really felt like I was ever really part of it” he tells Double J.

“I've tried to be better at it over the years because I know that it's good for your career and all that stuff… It kind of makes me a bit nervous and anxious and I'm just not that sort of person.

“I love being outside, being in the bush and on the beach, so I get a bit rattled when I'm around the hype. I've had to work on it, I really have.”

His coping mechanism for many years involved smoking “heaps of weed” to keep up with the changes in what was expected of him when he became successful.

“I don't smoke weed anymore, I don't drink. That's another thing I feel like I've achieved with this album cycle, understanding myself and being able to stand more in my power and be in the world that I need to be in with a clear mind.”